Writing Tips and Tricks
By GMart5 Writing can be difficult. To some, it seems as though writing is a skill meant for a select few people. I'm here to tell you the truth: Anyone can be a great writer. It just takes practice and development of skills. Here are some tips and tricks I know that will help you become a better writer. Tip 1: There's no such thing as "perfect" One of the biggest worries I see (and one I myself have experienced) is that people want their writing to be flawless. The thing is, nobody writes gold the first time. Not even the most well-known and acclaimed writers will write good stuff the first time through. How then, you ask, do they manage to write so good at all? Here are some tricks. These will help you in both writing stories and that dreaded 5-paragraph essay for school and college, and they will give you higher grades for your essay. Trust me. I've done it. Before you write: *Trick 1: Think about what it is you're going to write about. Come up with a story or a topic that you know you can write about, and then jot it down somewhere. It helps you remember it for when you get to... *Trick 2: Get some ideas going. Refer back to that story or topic. What could be said about it? What will happen? Jot it all down! This is the brainstorming process. *Trick 3: Organize common ideas. Find a common theme between ideas and group them together. Make note of that key point. *Trick 4: Organize key points. Give the whole piece of writing a clear structure that makes logical sense. What fits best at the beginning, and what fits best at the end? You now have a basic map of how your work is going to be written. Finally, you begin to write. When you write: *Trick 5: Write anything that comes to mind that's based on your writing map. Don't even erase something you think is bad. Just get your thoughts in writing. One of my English professors called this process "Shitty First Drafting," and now I call it by the same name. Just allow yourself to write shit. Trust me, it'll be worth it when we get to... *Trick 6: Pick out the good stuff from your shitty first draft. Sift through what you just wrote down and find the stuff that you can really build upon later. You'll be surprised at what you might find in there. *Trick 7: Build some material around the stuff you picked out. Write things that are related to the good stuff you sorted through. You can really think about it this time, and you can allow in-the-moment edits to happen at this point. Develop your points well! *Trick 8: Share your work with peers. They'll give you feedback and suggestions that you must consider. Expect to see things like, "Fix your grammar" or "This would probably fit better over here." Heed to their word! *Trick 9: Make some last-minute edits based on the feedback you received. Fine tune your grammar and spelling, and make some structure changes. This is the revision stage, and once that's done, you've finally finished your work of writing. Hooray! With practice and utilization of these tricks, you, too, can become the next great writer (or at least a better writer than you are now). Tip 2: Write good characters We've all seen characters. Whether they be in films or TV shows or books, characters are a key part of the story. They give the story depth and serve as the driving force of the plot. All characters in a story are equally important, so it's definitely a good investment if you write some good characters. Here are some tricks on how to do just that. *Trick 1: Give the character a clear identity and personality. What do they do? What do they like? What do they dislike? What kind of relationships do they have with their peers and society? What do the peers and society have to think about them? What's their background? All of these questions are important, since answering them will allow your character to have a clear identity. Do this for every character, not just the protagonist. *Trick 2: The protagonist must be dynamic; that is, they have to undergo some sort of change in the story. The protagonist is the central figure of the entire story, so they need to undergo a change. Maybe they gain a new insight on life, or perhaps they acquire new knowledge? Perhaps they wind up in a gang or an underground revolt? Whatever that change may be, it needs to be present. Be sure it's an actual change to the person, not just a cosmetic change (although they may be used). *Trick 3: The antagonist must be as complex as the protagonist. Mind you, the antagonist isn't necessarily evil or bad; the antagonist is a force or person that works against the protagonist. They must have a clear and logical intention, and they, too, must have a clear identity. *Trick 4: Don't let the story mainly focus on secondary characters. You can have certain subplots involving secondary characters, but never make those characters the focus of the whole story. If you had a story where a knight rescues a princess from a dragon, odds are you won't focus entirely on the beggar on the road. The same rule applies to comic relief. *Trick 5: Typecast roles and stereotypes are okay if used properly. Don't be afraid to use a set stereotype to create a character. Just be sure you don't make every character a stereotype. If you must use a stereotype, give the stereotype a unique spin. It shows that you actually care. *Trick 6: If you're going to depict historical figures, be sure you accurately represent them. You wouldn't like someone in the future misrepresenting you, would you? No? Then accurately represent historical figures if you're going to use them. These tips will help you create interesting characters that will help the story along.